Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party (1983, Cameron Crowe) in theaters Oct 17 and 20
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In 2024, the long-thought lost 16mm reels of Tom Petty in Cameron Crowe’s first film, “Heartbreakers Beach Party”, were finally found. The classic ‘80s documentary captures Tom Petty and the band in 1982-1983 as they finish, promote, and tour around the “Long After Dark” album (their final with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine). After its initial airing on MTV in 1983, the film was deemed too experimental and abruptly pulled from the air. In the more than 40 years since, it has become folklore to fans, musicians and within the entertainment industry - even credited with inspiring scenes in Spinal Tap. The highly anticipated & fully remastered “Heartbreakers Beach Party” is a fun, candid, fast paced, & musically rich ride with America’s greatest rock & roll band, a time capsule of the dawn of the MTV era, and a rare & shining glimpse into Tom Petty’s lasting creative genius.
This exclusive theatrical release features 19 minutes of fully remastered, never-before-seen, archival bonus footage and new commentary from director Cameron Crowe.
The band wanders around lost backstage in this scene from ‘Heartbreakers Beach Party’ that inspired the legendary “Hello Cleveland” scene in ‘This Is Spinal Tap’.
this has been a BLAST to work on and finally share. holler with questions…thanks
I'm still going to see it in theaters but, since this is blu-ray.com, I'll ask what everyone wants to know here: will it be getting a blu-ray and/or 4K UHD release?
ACADEMY AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR CAMERON CROWE RELEASES HIS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT TOM PETTY: HEARTBREAKERS BEACH PARTY IN CINEMAS FOR THE FIRST TIME ON OCTOBER 17 AND 20
FULLY RESTORED WITH 20 MINUTES OF ADDITIONAL UNRELEASED FOOTAGE
Los Angeles, CA & London, UK – September 10, 2024 — Trafalgar Releasing and the Tom Petty Estate are thrilled to announce the highly anticipated big screen debut of TOM PETTY: HEARTBREAKERS BEACH PARTY. The lost 1983 cult classic documentary, directed by legendary Rolling Stone journalist and Academy Award-winning director Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire), will screen in cinemas worldwide for two special nights only on October 17 and October 20 (on what would have been Tom Petty’s 74th birthday). Fans will experience Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers like never before with a new introduction from Crowe himself and an all-new 20-minute cut of unreleased outtakes from the acclaimed director. Watch/share the trailer HERE.
“Heartbreakers Beach Party occupies a special place in my heart,” says Crowe. “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers leaned into the making of the film with a kind of hilarious music-filled honesty that still feels fresh forty years later. It was also my first experience as a director. Thanks to Adria Petty and the Petty Estate, along with our co-filmmakers Danny Bramson, Phil Savenick, Doug Dowdle and Greg Mariotti, I’m so happy we’re bringing it back in all its reckless glory. The fact that it was yanked from MTV after only one airing at 2:00 A.M. just shows that it was indeed an outlandish feast for fans in all the best ways. Let that sucker blast!”
Tickets for TOM PETTY: HEARTBREAKERS BEACH PARTY are available now at www.TomPettyFilm.com.
This cinematic event marks the first time TOM PETTY: HEARTBREAKERS BEACH PARTY has been seen on the big screen, fully remastered in 4K. Originally airing only once on MTV in February 1983, it was Crowe’s directorial debut and pirated versions have been coveted by fans ever since. Featuring a mix of in-depth interviews, electrifying live performances and unprecedented intimate access to Petty and the band—including Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Stan Lynch, and new addition Howie Epstein—the film’s influence can even be seen in Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap.
The film, now restored from its 16mm source by Crowe, reveals an era defining look at rock & roll in 1982 when Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers finished, promoted and toured around the groundbreaking album Long After Dark. Often misunderstood, this is the band’s third and final album with legendary rock producer Jimmy Iovine. Alongside the film an expansive reissue, Long After Dark (Deluxe Edition), featuring a collection of rediscovered and unheard songs will be released on October 18.
MTV, a relatively new network at the time, was instrumental in shaping music culture, and this film captures the essence of that era. The film features behind the scenes footage of the iconic apocalyptic western music video for “You Got Lucky,” directed by Jim Lenahan, which was groundbreaking and pioneering for its short film approach and futuristic style.
This is the second “Meet Up” for Tom Petty fans following the successful 2021 Trafalgar release of award-winning and critically acclaimed Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free - The Making of Wildflowers.
“This special cinematic event offers Tom Petty fans a unique opportunity to unite and honor the music that has deeply resonated with countless fans through many decades and generations,” says Kymberli Frueh, Senior Vice President for Programming and Content Acquisitions at Trafalgar Releasing. “The cinema platform offers a way for these fans to connect with one another and hopefully create new memories together.”
About Tom Petty
Over his 40-year career, Tom Petty became a beloved American rock & roll icon, world renowned for his songwriting and his incredible band the Heartbreakers. In addition to the 13 studio albums he made with the Heartbreakers, Petty recorded three solo albums, including the acclaimed Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers. Petty was also a member of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys, and in the pre-Heartbreakers band, Mudcrutch.
Hailed as one of the greatest popular music artists of all time, Petty’s honors include Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and multiple Grammy Awards. He has sold over 85 million records, amassed over 5 billion streams and performed to over 140 million fans worldwide. Tom Petty passed away in 2017 shortly after completing his 40th anniversary tour, leaving behind a trove of unreleased material. His music continues to reach fans, both new and old, around the world today.
About Trafalgar Releasing
Trafalgar Releasing, the global leader in event cinema distribution, harnesses the power of cinema to bring fans together in more than 15,000 cinemas across 132 countries. A subsidiary of Trafalgar Entertainment, Trafalgar Releasing’s operations include production, acquisition, marketing, and distribution of live or pre-recorded content to cinemas worldwide led by an international team based in the UK, US and Germany. Featuring live concerts, music documentaries, world-class opera, award-winning theatre, and more from leading names in entertainment such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, BTS, Metallica, Oasis, Coldplay, Billie Eilish, the Royal Opera House and others, Trafalgar Releasing has repeatedly shattered event cinema box office records, most recently with international distribution for TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR, the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Information about Trafalgar Releasing can be found at www.trafalgar-releasing.com.
There is a new post at The Uncool website about it:
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It’s been awhile, but we are back…You will see much more activity here as we ramp up various projects in the coming months. This first one was a real surprise. When the amazing Adria Petty reached out to Cameron late last year and said, “we should release the Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party movie”, we were stunned. It only aired once on MTV back in 1983 and would require much work (clearances, remaster, etc.). It’s been a blast for Cameron and myself to put this together with Team Petty. It’s never looked better and there will be some great additional bonus footage of Tom and the Heartbreakers. We hope you make it to theaters and check it out! Here’s all the details.
Just got back from seeing it with a big and very lively crowd. It was a whole lot of fun! The outtakes and retrospectives blended seamlessly with the vibe of the feature, too. Very much recommend it!
This is being touted as “Cameron Crowe’s first film.” Do you think of “Heartbreakers Beach Party” as your first directorial effort?
I do. I had only done print journalism, and I was really nervous when Danny Bramson said, “Let’s do a video profile.” I was nervous about being a person on camera because I had always had a problem with people that insert themselves and try to give you their version of the person they’re documenting or profiling. But then I started to really have fun doing it, asking him how he wrote “The Waiting” and “I Need to Know,” for example, and I just felt like, “OK, I get to sit here and put you in the front seat of you asking Tom Petty how he wrote these songs — this is fun.” But I was still just a writer and interviewer…
Then we were in the RV, on the road to the video shoot for “You Got Lucky”… He was playing this great solo version of Elvis Presley’s “His Latest Flame,” and I got chills. That didn’t make it into the early version of “Heartbreakers Beach Party,” but we’ve put it in the outtakes (for the theatrical release). I was really enthralled by what we were getting. And he said, “I’m gonna play one more song for you.” I had written “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” and it had just come out and was doing OK. He told me that he had a stereotype against him growing up in Gainesville, having long blond hair — that people thought he was a stoner who was a little bit thick and not that smart, and that he always got misjudged because of his hair and his look. So he had written this novelty song called “I’m Stupid.” And he said, “Pick up the camera. Let me do this song right to you.”
And I’m like, “Well, I’m not really the director. I’m just the writer and the interviewer.” And he said, “Get the camera back. Put it right on me and film me doing this song.” And so I did. And he does this song, “I’m Stupid” right into the camera. And I remember being hit by a thunderbolt: This is what it’s like to be a director. Like, they’re doing it right to the camera, you are there, and there’s no middleman, no editor, no tape recorder, there’s no transcript. It’s just this is the moment and you’re there. He finished the song, we pressed stop on the camera and he said, “Congratulations, you’re a director.”
I never forgot it — and I never stopped directing in one way or another since then. So I always think of it like it was Petty with that song, “I’m Stupid,” saying, “Forget the protocol, man. Put the camera on your shoulder and shoot it.” And it’s a credo worth remembering.
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Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party (1983, Cameron Crowe) in theaters Oct 17 and 20
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